I should have known better. Despite my previous efforts to keep this bitch on the road--many of them successful, some not--I decided to tear into the P's front end and replace the brake shoes. I mean, how hard can it be?
One scraped knuckle, a lot of swearing and some time later I got everything back together, adjusted the cable and everything appeared to be right with the world. Wrong. My test ride revealed that pulling on the front brake lever didn't really slow the bike down. Lotsa effort to pull the lever, but not much result.
Crap. Pulled it apart again, checked and re-checked, then back together it goes. Still nothin', although I did discover that I have a fragged speedo drive. That's gonna have to get replaced later.

I pulled it apart Thursday night and checked to see if the shoes were a match for the old ones (they are) and that's when I discovered what appears to be part of a needle bearing loose inside the hub. I thought that these things had sealed bearings. If so, is my front bearing fucked? I guess I need to completely disassemble the hub now. Or am I better off replacing it? Does a new hub come with everything already installed? The scoot has over 28K on it, so maybe everything's just wearing out...

Still can't figure out why the brake isn't working either. The cam looks OK, cable isn't that old....Hmm.

Looking for input here, folks. My patience level is at an all-time low.
And yes, I have considered a match and a can of gasoline, but I'd rather not blow four bucks for a gallon of gas.

Do you have a Haynes manual?
I have two, because I bought one after I 'lost' my original one. (It wasn't buried in a random drawer in my garage where I was looking for it- it was on a bookshelf in the house. What the hell?) I could be persuaded to part with the "not grease stained much" one.

There are multiple bearings on the hub- one ball bearing (sealed? can't recall) and caged roller bearings. If you're seeing loose needles, it's probably time to replace those bad boys. I rebuilt my front hub a by myself a few years ago, and I haven't died in as a result of it falling apart yet. That should be a testament to how relatively simple the procedure is.

Gopher Bearing Co at 280 just north of University will have replacements for the bearings, if you take them the existing ones, they should be able to replace them. You'll need new seals from someplace, though. (Pick the parts house of your least dislike.)

As for the brakes- did you test them before you put the hub back on? (ie, watch the cam work when you pull the cable? hub is clean and free of grease? Clean the hub with gas, rough up the brake pad with a light sanding (be careful of ye olde asbestos.)

So I don't think hubs come fully populated with stuff, but you can buy all the bits you need.

" Clean the hub with gas, rough up the brake pad with a light sanding"
Yes.

Stephen suspects that the old hub could be out of round or possibly out of spec. There is around 28,000 miles on it. Shit does where out. Hmmm.

I'm pretty sure that I have the Haynes manual, although a lot of it is about European scoots. I'll double-check to see if the bearing assemblies match the ones in the book, which means pulling the seals and bearings. What could possibly go wrong there?
-K

In the Haynes, it states something like "the bearing assemblys are different from model to model. This version is a P125. Pay attention to your bike when you take it apart,because it may be slightly different."

Sounds like you covered the basic, then. Seeing a loose needle doesn't seem like a good omen, though.